“Happy and successful cooking doesn't rely only on know-how; it comes from the heart, makes great demands on the palate and needs enthusiasm and a deep love of food to bring it to life.”
- Georges Blanc, Ma Cuisine des Saisons!

November 10, 2007

Suganya of "Tasty Palettes" has asked us to contribute to a one-time event "Vegan Ventures" to celebrate Vegan month of November by sending her any Vegan recipes.November 1st is declared as a "World Vegan Day" to make people aware of Veganism and it's health benefits.A delicious and simple Vegan vegetable stir-fry is my entry. Enjoy and thanks for hosting Suganya!:)

This is how "The British Vegan Society" defines Veganism:"The word "veganism" denotes a philosophy and way of living which seeks to exclude — as far as is possible and practical — all forms of exploitation of, and cruelty to, animals for food, clothing or any other purpose; and by extension, promotes the development and use of animal-free alternatives for the benefit of humans, animals and the environment. In dietary terms it denotes the practice of dispensing with all products derived wholly or partly from animals"More info about Veganism is here and here.

The term "animal product" in a vegan context refers to any material derived from animals for human use.Notable animal products include meat, poultry, seafood, eggs, dairy products, honey, fur, leather, wool, and silk.This Info is from WIKIPEDIA.(Silk is Vegan! More than half a Billion Indian people love and wear Silk Sarees and silk cloths in India, bad news for Veganism!!)

Personally, vegetarianism is easier for me to adapt than Veganism if have to. I don't think I can give up Yogurt and butter completely to become a vegan!:D It needs a lot of will power to practice Veganism but it's not impossible to practice though. Good luck if you are willing.

Brussels Sprout Stir-fry:(Last minute addition!)I made a quick Brussels Sprout (I call them "mini me" Cabbages!:D) south Indian style stir-fry yesterday for dinner, thought I will add this too since there are no animal products involved in this dish as well! Info about this vegetable is here.

To make Stir-fry:1. Heat 1 tbsp of vegetable oil in a non-stick pan, splutter 1 tsp mustard seeds, 1 tsp cumin seeds, 1 tbsp each of Chana dal and Urad dal, 2 red chillies, 1 green chilly sliced ,cook until reddish.2. Add about 10-15 Brussels sprout, sliced into 2 to 4 pieces to the pan,stir-fry until they wilt,sprinkle some water,turn down the heat,cover and cook until soft but mashed, little crunch is okay too.3. Take the cover off, add salt, pinch of Turmeric,1 tsp any Rasam pd or Curry pd (this is optional) you have, 1 tbsp grated coconut, mix well, heat thru' again. Squeeze some lemon juice and turn off the heat.

Note: Both of these dishes taste great with either rotis, Dosas , as side dishes with rice and Sambhar or even with crusty roll or bread.

Mixed vegetable Subzi cooked in the Microwave is my entry to "Easy cooking with Microwave" which is hosted by Srivalli of "Cooking 4 all seasons" with a theme of "Side dishes" this month. Thanks for hosting Sri!:))

Microwaved Eggplant and Potato side dish:

To make Subzi:1. Take a big and deep enough glass bowl to fit about 4 cups of vegetables with gravy. Add 1 tbsp oil and 1 tbsp butter (not Vegan anymore!), MW for 1 minute. 2. Take it out, and add 1 tbsp Chana dal, 1 tsp mustard seeds,a pinch of Hing or Asafoetida, few curry leaves, cover with a lid slightly open, MW again for 1 minute or until they splutter and dal turns slightly golden. Open, add 1 onion finely minced, MW again for a minute or so until onion gets slight color. 3. Add cubed veggies (1 large potato, 4-5 purple Eggplants), 1 cup water, cover and cook again for 3 minutes, until the veggies soften a bit.Toss in 2 tomatoes cubed and 1 tsp tamarind juice to it,stir. MW for a minute.4. Add salt, chilli pd, 1 tbsp Coriander powder, (or you can add any Sambhar or curry pd you have), 2 tbsp grated coconut or coconut pd, 4 tbsp minced Cilantro, mix well. MW again for few more mins, uncovered this time until veggies are completely cooked but not mashed.5. Adjust the spices and serve this delicious side dish with Dosas, Chapatis or rice.

Note: Since Microwaves are of different capacity of power, I cannot give you the exact time for cooking. Check often to see how many minutes you need to cook at each step. Also use a deep and big enough bowl to hold all the veggies halfway and do not over fill it to avoid spilling and use the plate cover with a little gap on the side to prevent spluttering as well. You do get a microwavable splatter guard in the stores with rectangle gaps in the plate to let the air out and minimize the splatters.

Have fun, see you all later!:))

Posted by
Asha

49 comments:

Wow Ashaji, The vegan recipes are yum yummy..:DD Even I am thinking to participate in Suganya's Event.. Its fun. and the microwave subzi looks delish.. I always visit ur blog when I am hungry or when I just woke up from the bed.. That a real torture I am telling u.. (I must have told this umteen number of times.. but its true true..)And last nite we went to see "Om Shanti Om".. It was fun, but expected lot more.. and as u know.. "Saawariya" is a flop.. I am so dissappointed..:(.. even then, I am determined to watch "Saawariya" today or tommorrow. Oh.. enuf of my talk.. how abt u?.. How was ur Diwali?.. Hope it went well..:))

Ashakka, I loved your zucchini sabzi very much. Looks so colorful. Microwave curry looks delicious too. I have never tried tampering in microwave. Guess I should try it out now. How did you spend your diwali?

Siri, yup. You got me first this time.I think most are sleeping off yesterday's Diwali feast! Haha!Sawariya was flop? I am disappointed too, Leela Bansali's movie, expected more! Oh well..I don't overacting SRK, so it's okay if "OSO" flops!;DWe had fun yesterday, ate, had some firecrackers lit and lit some candles in the porch etc. They showed Diwali at Trafalgar square in B4U, we watched for am hr. That's about it!:)That MW palya ,you can do it stove top too, tastes great. Enjoy.Just came back from shopping, got some more pretty things for kitchen!:D

Ralitha, Urad dal dosas are the best of all. You will get such uniform color but bit hassle fermenting and all that!:))

Bindiya, yes we did. And there are plenty leftover for today as well!:DEnjoy the weekend.

Saju, I make dosas in the electric griddle. It distributes the heat evenly and I set the temp to 275F. It will come perfect, griddle is great for masala dosa too. Get one if you can there.Hope your weekend is going well!:))

Seema, stir fries are best with chapatis or rice. Zucchinis are great to cook quickly too. Usually, I don't cook palyas in the MW, I did just for this event!:)Diwali was great, bit chilly here.Had to wear jackets outside for patakis!:DTushar wanted Masale Chitranna , so I made that too. It was great,now we have to leftovers!:)Hope you had a good one too.

Suganya, it's a pleasure. Vegan dishes are easy for Indians to adapt. Can't wait for the round up. Enjoy your first event! :))

Thank you tbc. Regular Urad dal dosas are the best. Enjoy and have a great weekend!:)

Hahaha!! Sra, I remember as a child when I used visit my Mysore Thatha's farm. He used to buy these silk worms, put them in huge circular bamboo open baskets, feed them finely chopped greens everyday.When they build their cocoons, they boil the whole thing, and separate the silk and the worms and then sell it. YUCK! It used stink so bad!:DThey have stopped that now and growing sugarcane as well these days, don't get profit for all the labor I guess!Anyway, I don't think I can ever be Vegan though!:)

Nice music in your blog dear!:) Great entries for the events!! I was feeling bit lazy to type any recipe since two days!:D I better do it today! I knew saawariya will be no good! I was not at all impressed by the new pair! I watched Sholay, may be 100th time:D and some telugu movie on lord Sreenivasa! So what did you do for diwali(I am not asking about the cooking part)For me the last 4 days were difficult without being able to talk properly to lax and sat! They were out of the reach most of the time!:( To make things worse my hubby kept asking after every hour, "shall we call them now" Bye for now!:)

Latha, I thought Sonam looked good, that boy dances like Shashi Kapoor, like in 70s!:DAtleast you watched some good movies. I watched Guru last night they showed in B4U as Diwali special! Liked it, different from the usual song and dance. Firday, we lit the porch (I will post later at FH) and lit some firecrackers and ate. That's it for us.We are the only Indian family here.L and S are having fun there! Haha!! Don't call, let them call you. The more you try, the more you get frustrated!!I know we parents feel like that but kids want freedom!:D

all the dishes look good asha:)i have tried being vegan on & off & you are right, giving up yogurt& milk& milk products is the most difficult part of it! i tried replacing yogurt with kombucha( a probiotic drink)& other cultured soy drinks,dairy products with soy products etc but somehow it wasn't the same!! i really missed my cup of hot milky tea in the mornings & soy tea was not that great!:)paati

Paati, you are right! Nothing can substitute yogurt!! We can give up ghee, butter somehow!!:DI don't think I can do it, vegetarianism is easier. Hope you had a great Deepavali there!:))

Swati, thank you. I never knew lot of facts about Veganism either, it was interesting to learn! Silk is not Vegan girl, how do we deal with that?! :DEnjoy, hope you had a good Diwali there. It was bland for us but okay. Check out Foodies Hope for my Diwali post!:))

Asha, here I am playing catch-up. Now, you've got two veggies I don't love -- zucchini and brussels sprouts, and you manage to make them look soooo appetising. Not fair! :) Like you I don't think I could give up milk and cheese (maybe butter, if pressed) to be come vegan. But these dishes sure look yummy.

Eggplant and potato of course, would be great with or without the dairy! Have a great rest-of-the-weekend :)

Linda, to be a Vegan is tough! You will be constantly checking up on food, what to eat and what not to eat!:D Dosa coming up, check your mail! Haha!! Kids will be home tomorrow, that means more cheesy Burgers for lunch tomorrow!:)

Sig, you and Veganism!!!! AHHHH!!!!!!:DNot a good pair girl, eat up your meat and be happy. Take it easy Sig. All these festivals making me drowsy too. Guess what I am cooking for Thanksgiving? YUP! T and all the trimmings!:))

You are welcome Sri! Except Tadka, it's easy to cook in the MW. Seasoning is a little for me in the MW!:DEnjoy, can't wait for the round up.

Lakshmiiii, you are back!! Good to see you girl!:)Hope you called your parents! They were trying to get in touch with you guys, had some trouble I hear. LOL! Great Knock Knock joke. I don't think nothing beats the taste of plain yogurt! I don't want to a Vegan just for that reason!;DHappy Monday, hugs to you. Looks like you had a great Deepavali, hope you post some photos of Simla!:)

I'm still not that familiar with the vegan world. I agree with you. Practicing vegetarianism is easier for me than veganism. I've not cooked much with zucchini. But your sabzi looks delicious. Is that tomatoes only or red peppers that you have used in that subzi? I'm having some brussel sprouts in my fridge. Will try this recipe tonight.Eggplant potato side dish also looks yummy. I do it the same way too but on the stovetop. Thanks for sharing all these yummy recipes.

About Me

Peace and love!

(www.soft3k.com)

Search Aroma Blog dishes here!

Your feedbacks are always welcome! :)

Whenever you try any of my dishes from here at Aroma Hope or Foodie's Hope blogs, please leave a feedback if you can. Positive or constructively negative, your feedbacks and suggestions will always help me improve and learn from you too. But any unkind and nasty comment WILL BE deleted. Thanks! :)

Please do not copy without my permission, please ask. Thank you! :)

Copying and posting the photos or texts from any blog as your own without linking to the original author is unethical and not appreciated by any blogger. Do appreciate the time and effort we put into publishing these posts so others can try new recipes and enjoy. Please do not steal!!

Food Quote!:)

"This curry was like a performance of Beethoven's Ninth Symphony that I'd once heard.....especially the last movement, with everything screaming and banging 'Joy.' It stunned, it made one fear great art. My father could say nothing after the meal."

Anthony Burgess

What is Plagiarism?

Passing off someone's work as your own is known as plagiarism. Individuals who plagiarize material deliberately are committing an illegal act and it is unethical at best! It's ok to use pictures and paraphrase text with author's permission but be sure to cite the source of your information. Thank you. (Info from www.personal.psu.edu)